Saturday, January 8, 2011

I wish I were surprised. My heart is broken, my mind is sad, but the surprise button remains quiet and hiding in a dark corner.

Many in our country have been fueling fires. Advocating passions and politics of hate. And some of the haters have been moved to voice sometimes veiled, sometimes blatant, calls to arms.

If we were computers. If we could turn off our emotions and our prejudices and what we perceive, rightly or wrongly, to be our self-interests and/or the interests of our nation. Then we could clearly see that the farther we go in the direction of ignoring, sanctioning or even participating in what has become the demonizing of many of our fellow citizens, there will be people who decide to express the anger burning in their hearts by violent means.

Do any of us hate anyone for social or political reasons? Do we seek to fuel that hate, to spread that hate, or mandate that hate?

I will be writing more about this. But right now I have to allow myself to let my tears flow. My poor country. I wish I could put my arms around it, an angry and frightened child. To cradle it in my arms and whisper calming and loving words about community, safety, tolerance, compromise, coming together, moving to center, renewal and peace.

Anger is part of our human makeup. And it can be channeled in useful and important ways.

I feel like there are targets, if not of violence, then of being branded of not worthy of staying alive. A lot of us are in one set of crosshairs or another. I know I wish I had a place to hide. This democracy has morphed into a plutocracy as well as many groups of passionate, angry, bitter, and sometimes dangerous people, who also sometimes even vote against their own self-interest due to ideology. Frankly, I don't recognize the place. I went to sleep in the USA and woke up in...?